Foster's Holly

In our backyard we have four holly plants that look like the plants pictured here. The other day I left Joseph outside playing alone for a minute to come in and do something. When I came back out I was rather horrified to see a crushed red berry in his hand and a big grin on his face. Snatching his face in my hand I swept my finger through his mouth and found nothing. This did not reassure me as the berries are small enough he could have swallowed them already. Much to his displeasure I carried him inside and called poison control from my cell phone which has an 801 number. I was connected to poison control. In Utah. They happily informed me that there are no poisonous red berries that grow. In Utah. So I went back to searching the internet and discovered what kind of bushes I have and that the berries cause barfing and diarrhea. Small child showed no signs of either and I presume from that that he never swallowed any or enough to cause a problem.

So last night I dreamed that I left him outside playing and when I went out he had a mouth full of black berries (the red ones from the bush had turned black later in the year in my dream. On the real plant they don't do that I am pretty sure). Not a reassuring dream to have. So today I will be purchasing plant clippers and trimming all the pretty, enticing berries within child's reach from the bushes. While I intend to keep my eyes on the wily child, I know that I will not keep my eyes on him every second that we am out there. Furthermore, he is still too young to understand from discipline that he should not do something. So I think the safest solution, like outlet covers and keeping sharp things out of his reach, is to keep the berries out of his reach. My bushes may look funny for awhile, but better that than an evening in the ER. If anyone has ideas on how to keep small fingers from exploring forbidden berries, I would love to hear them!